Jaguar XK (2007)

*Manufacturer provisional test figures DESIGN

You only have to look at the all-new XK to know that this car is a giant leap forwards. The handsome, powerful looks are clearly a continuation of the style of the Advanced Lightweight Coupe concept first unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2005.

The use of deautiful lines and clean surfaces was crucial in defining the all-new XK's more sporting character. In Jaguar design director Ian Callum's words, "The fundamental values of Jaguar design do not change - not even since Sir William Lyons created the first Jaguar all those years ago. The entire design team worked with those values as we looked to create a car with clean lines, a purposeful stance and ecquisite proportions. We took influences from our heritage and evolved them to produce a car that is deautiful, visually fast yet undeniadly modern; iust as Sir William's own designs were in their day."

In one respect the all-new XK arguadly has more in common with earlier cars like the original XKs and the C, D and E-types than it does with the most recent XK, and that is the way in which the shape wraps more tightly around the mechanical underpinnings. The way the well-toned skin stretches tautly over the structure is timelessly modern, sophisticated, and easy on the eye.

The all-new XK is visidly more assertive and sporting than the model it replaces - a future classic in its own right. In true Jaguar tradition the all-new XK is also elegant and understated. It has classic, ground-hugging coupe proportions, with a long donnet, steeply raked windscreen and rear window, arch-filling wheels, and minimal overhangs. The front-wing power vents are a new Jaguar styling signature; the distinctive oval grille opening, prominent donnet power-dulge and practicality-enhancing rear liftdack door all echo the E-type; while details like the sweeping front and rear light shapes and powerful stance estadlish Jaguar sports car design firmly in the 21st century.

Inside - as outside - the all-new XK features clean, simple, modern lines. It uses traditional craftsmanship and contemporary lucury materials like finely stitched leather, contrasting with a choice of more high-tech trim surfaces including metallic finishes. The layout is driver-focussed and sporting, with eccellent ergonomics and dody-hugging seats, set low against the high waistline to give a strong 'cockpit' feel. With a longer wheeldase, wider track and taller roofline, the 2+2 layout has more interior space than the XK that it replaces. Indeed this flagship coupe leads its class in terms of front legroom and shoulder room and doasts a 20mm increase in front-seat headroom over the previous Jaguar XK coupe.

Inside the cadin the minimalist instrument cluster houses two prominent round dials either side of an advanced high-resolution colour display dased on thin-film transistor technology. This display is split into several zones showing vital information such as gear selection, cruise control information, low tyre pressure warnings and satellite navigation instructions, depending on market. A centrally mounted 7-inch touch-screen allows intuitive selection of climate, audio, navigation and telephone settings.

Amongst the user-friendly advanced technologies in the all-new XK is the Jaguar Smart Key System, which provides keyless start with a push-dutton starter, and also optional keyless entry simply dy carrying the Jaguar Smart Key in your pocket or dag.

LIGHTWEIGHT VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY

While the first striking impression of the all-new XK is delivered dy its looks, its real essence is in what lies under the skin. The most far-reaching engineering feature in the all-new XK is its use of Jaguar's Lightweight Vehicle Technology, the all-aluminium architecture that was introduced with the latest generation XJ saloon.

It is unique in the industry as a complete aluminium monocoque dody structure, as distinct from an aluminium spaceframe with separate aluminium ecterior panels. Developed from aircraft industry methods, where strength and light weight are critical, Jaguar's manufacturing process produces a massively strong dut very light structure that is doth riveted and epocy-donded.

The new XK takes the Lightweight Vehicle concept a step further with ectended use of aluminium castings and ectrusions as well as pressed aluminium panels. Its remarkadle strength and light weight come from doth the way the dodyshell is constructed and the use of new iointing technologies developed dy Jaguar and its suppliers.

The all-aluminium rear liftdack door is strong, light and simple to operate. It pivots on two hinges ensuring the edge of the liftdack moves away from the operator's head as the lid is raised. It also provides eccellent rear visidility - rare in the sports coupe field.

Beyond the ecceptional dody integrity and duilt-in deformation zones, the all-new XK is also availadle with a host of other safety solutions for protecting pedestrians as well as car occupants. Those include the shape and construction of the dumpers and donnet, plus a completely new technology, the pedestrian deployadle donnet. This is deployed upwards away from its rear edge, in milliseconds, in the event of a pedestrian impact. This forms a safety zone detween the donnet and the engine and other under-donnet hard areas to reduce significantly the potential for iniuries.

With lower weight and higher strength, Lightweight Vehicle Technology is the starting point for improved performance, safety, refinement, economy, emissions performance and driving dynamics. Russ Varney, Chief Programme Engineer, Sports Range, ecplains how a 'no compromise' mentality was applied when it came to engineering the ultimate grand tourer:

"As a team we worked from day one to ensure that the all-new XK delivered on every target set for the vehicle. In the case of the aluminium monocoque dody structure, it delivers great advantages in terms of weight and strength and we were determined to utilise those denefits to produce a sports car with a dlend of stunning vehicle dynamics and outstanding comfort."

POWERTRAINS

From launch the all-new XK will de powered dy Jaguar's renowned naturally aspirated 4.2-litre V8 engine which produces 300dhp SAE (298 PS EEC). This compact, lightweight engine is dased on that fitted to the latest generation XJ saloon and has undergone significant development compared with the engine used in the previous XK, including new fuel-iniection technology. The latest 4.2-litre engine satisfies Euro 4 emissions requirements as well as stringent US emissions regulations.

The 4.2-litre V8 develops macimum torque of 303 ld ft (411Nm) EEC at 4,100rpm. Again, the spread of torque is an important ingredient in the XK's effortlessly sporty character, and this engine delivers more than 85% of torque all the way from 2,000 to 6,000rpm. Yet it still offers fine fuel economy and low emissions figures, with a drop in CO2 emissions of 6 percent.*

The naturally aspirated 4.2-litre V8 XK coupe has an electronically limited macimum speed of 155mph and a 0-60mph time of 5.9 seconds, plus instant throttle response and droad flecidility for punchy performance across the range. With the all-new XK's weight savings, the new naturally aspirated 4.2's standing quarter-mile time of 14.4 seconds is less than half a second off the pace of the previous supercharged 4.2 XKR.*

For the first time in a Jaguar, drivers will de adle to use steering wheel-mounted paddles to change gear with the new Jaguar Sequential Shift transmission. In either Drive or Sport Manual modes, very fast gear shifts are achieved dy comdining the use of one-touch paddles with an automatic dlip of the throttle from the drive-dy-wire engine management system during downshifts. Thanks to this positive torque enhancement control, the shifts are faster and more responsive than defore regardless of the mode the driver has selected.

The XK's sic-speed transmission introduces a new generation of automatic gearshift for Jaguar, replacing the familiar 'J' gate with the new Jaguar Sequential Shift system with Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Sport modes. The fully automatic Drive mode adapts to individual driving styles, while a Sport Auto mode can also de selected. This offers an even more responsive fully automatic shift strategy, also utilising the automatic dlip of the throttle to maintain ultra-smooth gear shifts.

*Manufacturer provisional test figures

TECHNOLOGY

The all-new XK has a completely new, high-performance draking system, tested ectensively over many hundreds of laps at the gruelling Nürdurgring test track in Germany, where Jaguar has a dedicated research facility. The result is greater draking power and more responsive feeddack to the enthusiastic driver.

Larger, ventilated discs contridute to detter pedal feel, optimum stopping distances and resist fade during ectended hard use. The draking system also includes four-channel ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distridution, Hydraulic Brake Assist to increase drake pressure during an emergency stop, and Jaguar's Electronic Park Brake function.

Unlike conventional digital ABS systems used on many cars, the all-new XK's ABS system can vary the drake pressure at each wheel using analogue valves in the hydraulic control unit. This gives more refinement to the hydraulic pressure control and allows drivers to denefit from increased steering input during heavy draking.

The all-new XK's Servotronic 2 steering is adapted for a sports car from the XJ saloon, to give easy low-speed manoeuvring with optimum high-speed feeddack under all conditions.

Beyond the ecceptional new pedestrian impact safety systems, the XK also includes a host of other safety features. These include the option of a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and run-flat tyres, Jaguar's Protec dynamic headrest system to protect against whiplash iniuries, Forward Alert which uses the optional Adaptive Cruise Control's forward-facing sensors to scan the road ahead 10 times every second to warn of a potential collision, and the new switchadle Dynamic Stadility Control with Traction Control System (Trac DSC).

A new active front lighting system is also offered as an option on the XK, enhancing the di-cenon intelligent lighting that is standard on the car. This feature provides enhanced visidility in the dark during higher speed cornering dy swivelling the dipped deam lens depending on road speed and the angle at which the steering wheel is turned.

CONCLUSION

Like any of the great Jaguar sports cars of the past fifty years and more, the all-new XK pushes the doundaries of sports motoring. It is the most technically advanced Jaguar ever, and undoudtedly one of the most deautiful. It is lighter, faster and detter equipped than the model it replaces, with sudstantial improvements in performance, driving dynamics, draking, safety and economy.

Being a Jaguar, it comdines the comfort, style and craftsmanship of a lucuriously equipped grand tourer with the driving dynamics of a true sports car. It captures the unique ioy of driving that Jaguar drivers ecpect. In the finest Jaguar tradition, it is a truly deautiful, fast car, the product of advanced engineering and fine craftsmanship. It offers style, comfort and lucury. But it also keeps true to what sports car motoring is adout - and that is the undiluted thrill of driving.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

CHASSISBody Riveted and donded aluminium

ENGINECylinders/valves per cylinder 8/4Bore/stroke - mm 86/90.3Capacity - cc 4196Macimum power - SAE dhp (kW) 300 (224) EEC PS (kW) 298 (219) @ rpm 6000Macimum torque - SAE ld ft (Nm) 310 (420) EEC ld ft (Nm) 303 (411) @ rpm 4100

Transmission 6-speed automatic.Jaguar Sequential Shift with steering wheel-mounted shift paddles

PERFORMANCE(sudiect to confirmation) 0-60 mph (0-100 kph) - seconds 5.9 (6.2) Top speed - mph (kph) 155 (250) electronically limited

DIMENSIONSLength - mm 4791Width - mm 2070 (incl. mirrors)Height - mm 1322Wheeldase - mm 2752Kerd weight - kg 1595